Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation, first constitution of the United States. The Articles were in force from March 1, 1781, to June 21, 1788, when the present Constitution of the United States went into effect. The Articles were written in 1777 during the early part of the American War of Independence by a committee of the Second Continental Congress of the 13 colonies. The head of the committee, John Dickinson, presented a report on the proposed articles to the Congress on July 12, 1776, eight days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Dickinson initially proposed a strong central government, with control over the western lands, equal representation for the states, and the power to raise money by collecting taxes.

Partially informed by their perception of their experience with government from Britain, the 13 states feared a powerful central government; consequently, they changed Dickinson’s proposed articles before they sent them to all the states for ratification in November 1777. The Continental Congress had been careful to give the states as much independence as possible and to specify the limited functions of the federal government. Despite these precautions, several years passed before all the states ratified the articles. The delay resulted from preoccupation with fighting the war and from disagreements among the states. These disagreements included quarrels over boundary lines, conflicting decisions by state courts, differing tariff laws, and trade restrictions between states. The small states wanted equal representation with the large states in Congress, and the large states were afraid they would have to pay an excessive amount of money to support the federal government. In addition, the states disagreed over control of the western territories. The states with no frontier borders wanted the government to control the sale of these territories so that all the states profited. On the other hand, the states bordering the frontier wanted to control as much land as they could. Eventually the states agreed to give control of all western lands to the federal government, paving the way for final ratification of the articles on March 1, 1781.

The articles created a loose confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to a central government. The national government would consist of a single legislative chamber called Congress, where each state would have one vote. Congress had the power to set up a post office, to estimate the costs of the government and request donations from the states, to raise armed forces, and to control the development of the western territories. With the consent of 9 of the 13 states, Congress could also coin, borrow, or appropriate money as well as declare war and enter into treaties and alliances with foreign nations.

There was no independent executive and no veto of legislation. Judicial proceedings in each state were to be honoured by all other states. The federal government had no judicial branch, and the only judicial authority Congress had was the power to arbitrate on disputes between states. Congress was denied the power to raise money by collecting taxes; the new federal government was financed by donations from the states based on the value of each state’s lands. Any amendment to the articles required the unanimous approval of all 13 states.

In attempting to limit the power of the central government, the Second Continental Congress created one without sufficient power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems. The greatest weakness of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation was its inability to regulate trade and raise taxes. Sometimes the states refused to give the government the money it needed, and they engaged in tariff wars with one another, almost paralysing trade among the states. The government could not pay off the debts it had incurred during the war, including paying soldiers who had fought in the war and citizens who had provided supplies. Congress failed to pass needed measures because they lacked the nine-state majority required to become laws. The states largely ignored Congress, which was powerless to enforce cooperation, and it was therefore unable to carry out its duties.

Congress could not even force the states to adhere to the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that ended the American War of Independence, which was humiliating to the new government, especially when some states started their own negotiations with foreign countries. In addition, the new nation was unable to defend its borders from British and Spanish encroachment because it could not pay for an army when the states would not contribute the necessary funds. Political leaders such as Alexander Hamilton of New York and James Madison of Virginia criticized the limits placed on the central government, and George Washington is said to have complained that the federation was “little more than a shadow without substance”.

On February 21, 1787, Congress called for a Constitutional Convention to be held in May to revise the articles. Between May and September, the convention wrote the present Constitution of the United States, which retained some of the features of the Articles of Confederation but gave considerably more power to the federal government. It provided for an executive as well as a judicial branch and allowed the government to tax its citizens. Congress was also changed from one house to two houses—the Senate and House of Representatives.